Last year, runners traveled from 17 cities, two provinces and one state to circumnavigate Cultus Lake on foot. This year, they'll be back again for the Around The Lake Give'R Take 30 trail race, Saturday, October 15.
This is the ninth year for the exhilarating race that offers runners an escape from civilization. One's overall strength and mental toughness is put to the test. The 30-km course covers a combination of challenging single track trail, short stretches of pavement and sections of beautifully groomed Park trails. There are three major hills on the course that add up to a gut wrenching total of 1110 m elevation gain (3641 ft). The toughest of the hills is the last. It is not the longest, but the 440 m (1444ft) elevation climb near the end of the race tests your hard earned fitness to the limits. Four aid-stations are strategically placed around the race course. These stations support the no frills atmosphere of the race in that they allow the runners to be free to run unburdened. All aid-stations are manned by very capable volunteers ready to give food, drink or aid to the runners.
A few years ago the 16 km/14 km relay was added to the race. It has been very popular for those runners not interested in the longer solo 30 km and to those runners in the development phase moving towards the longer trail runs. Race Director, Heather Hibberson, said that the refinement for this year is in the area of timing.
“Utilizing Champion Chip Timing provided by Race Headquarters will guarantee very accurate split times and finals times,” Hibberson says.
Forty per cent of the entrants last year were from Chilliwack, with additional runners coming from Agassiz and Harrison Hot Springs. The support by runners for this local race is matched by the sponsorship of the race by local businesses.
Numerous prizes are donated by the businesses and are very much appreciated by the participants. Proceeds from the race are donated to Chilliwack Search & Rescue, Chilliwack Track & Field Club & the Vedder Mountain Trail Association.
More information is available at www.aroundthelakegivertake30.ca. Online registration, race map, past race results and photos may also be found on the web site.